Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Brandon: Hello listeners, I'm Brandon.
Mohammad: And I'm Mohammad. "Salam!"
Brandon: Welcome back to PersianPod101.com. This is Absolute Beginner, season 1, Lesson 20 - . In this lesson, you'll learn how to use adjectives in Persian.
Mohammad: In order to do that, we are going to listen to a conversation that takes place in a shop. And it’s between the shopkeeper and a customer, Ms. Tahereh.
Brandon: That's why they'll use both formal and informal Persian.
Brandon: So listeners, are you ready?
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Brandon: Is it true that in Iran, all women have to wear clothing that covers them up, and scarves on their hair?
Mohammad: Yes, that's part of the country's religious rules for public places.
Brandon: But don't they get tired of wearing the same thing?
Mohammad: There are actually so many styles and different colors and designs, that they can be interesting in their own way.
Brandon: Really? Can you give examples of some variety in their clothes?
Mohammad: For example, you may see some women in long colorful skirts in the countryside, or others with a long coat that is worn together with trousers.
Brandon: How about masks? I've heard that women also wear masks on their faces.
Mohammad: Yes, but that's only in one part of Iran. In other places, they only wear a scarf on their head.
Brandon: So, it also depends on the region.
Mohammad: Yes, and the subcultures of those regions. There's a variety as wide as the country itself.
Brandon: I see - thanks for explaining that!
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Brandon: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first key phrase for this lesson is...?
Mohammad: "kami." It means "a little."
Brandon: Which part means "a," and which part is "little"?
Mohammad: "kam" is "little," and "i" means "a."
Brandon: Didn't we have another word for "a"?
Mohammad: Yes. The word "yek" also means "a" or "one." But if we use that, it'll move before "kam" to become "yek kam."
Brandon: Does it also mean "a little"?
Mohammad: Yes, and in both cases it's considered an adverb.
Brandon: What’s an example?
Mohammad: "kami sard," which means "a little cold."
Brandon: Can you repeat it once more?
Mohammad: "ka-mi" (pause), "kami."
Brandon: Okay then. Our next phrase is?
Mohammad: "rang-e digar." It means "another color."
Brandon: Again, which one is "another" and which one is "color"?
Mohammad: "rang" means "color," and "digar" means "another." They're connected by the possessive "e," meaning "of."
Brandon: So in Persian, the order of words changes.
Mohammad: Yes. "color," which is a noun, comes first, and the adjective "digar" goes after it.
Brandon: Does that mean that adjectives always come after nouns in Persian?
Mohammad: Yes, that's the main rule.
Brandon: Okay. For the last time can you repeat it?
Mohammad: "rang-e digar" (pause), "rang-e digar."
Brandon: Our last phrase is...?
Mohammad: "lotf kardan" (pause) "lotf kardan."
Brandon: It means "to do a favor" or "to kindly do something for someone."
Mohammad: That's right. "lotf konid," without any other verb, is the polite way of asking someone to give us something.
Brandon: It seems very similar to "lotfan," or "please."
Mohammad: They really are similar. But this one is used to say "Please pass it to me."
Brandon: I understand. So let's repeat it once more.
Mohammad: "lotf kardan" (pause) "lotf konid" (pause).
Brandon: Thanks! Now let's learn more about adjectives in the grammar.

Lesson focus

Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use Persian adjectives. We just learned that in Persian, adjectives are added after nouns and the noun's possessive "e."
Mohammad: That's right. It's the most important thing to know about Persian adjectives.
Brandon: So what's the sign of an adjective in a sentence? I mean, how do we recognize them?
Mohammad: Unfortunately, they have no actual signs. You know them only by their meaning. Every adjective has its own special name that differs from others.
Brandon: I see. In that case, let's have a few examples. How do you say "big" and "little"?
Mohammad: "bozorg" and "koochak."
Brandon: How about "long" and "short"?
Mohammad: They are "boland" and "kootaah."
Brandon: And "cold" and "warm"?
Mohammad: "sard" and "garm."
Brandon: Okay, lastly what are "far" and "near"?
Mohammad: "door" and "nazdik."
Brandon: Thanks. Listeners, don't forget to check the accompanying lesson notes to see these in writing.
Mohammad: And you’ll find some more adjectives there too.
Brandon: By the way, are there comparative and superlative adjectives in Persian?
Mohammad: Of course!.
Brandon: How do you make them?
Mohammad: Well, with comparative ones, we add the suffix "tar" to the end of a regular adjective.
Brandon: For example, how do you say "bigger"?
Mohammad: We take the word "bozorg," meaning "big," and add "tar." It becomes "bozorgtar."
Brandon: How about superlative adjectives?
Mohammad: We add another suffix, "tarin," to the end of regular adjectives.
Brandon: For example, can you say "shortest"?
Mohammad: It's "kootaahtarin." That's "kootah," meaning "short," plus "tarin."
Brandon: Okay, they seem a lot like the "-er" and "-est," in "bigger" and "biggest."
Mohammad: Yes, they're the same thing!
Brandon: Great. Now I have another question. Are there any adjectives in Persian that don't change with "tar" and "tarin," and are considered exceptions?
Mohammad: Yes, actually there are. For example "khoob" means "good." But instead of "khoobtar" and "khoobtarin," we say "behtar" and "behtarin."
Brandon: What a coincidence! It's the same as in English, where the exception is "good," "better," and "best." Is it the same for "bad," "worse," and "worst"?
Mohammad: No. The adjective for "bad" changes the regular way, with "tar" and "tarin."
Brandon: Can you say them?
Mohammad: It's "bad," "badtar," and "badtarin."
Brandon: Okay. Please give us one last example, and then we'll wrap up.
Mohammad: Sure thing! The adjective for "happy" is "shaad" in Persian. The comparative and superlative become "shaadtar" and "shaadtarin."

Outro

Brandon: Well, that's all for this lesson, everyone.
Mohammad: Please come back soon for more.
Brandon: Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time!
Mohammad: khodaahaafez!

Comments

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3 Comments
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PersianPod101.com
2014-11-17 18:30:00

Hi Listeners! What is your favorite color? *Can you write it in Persian?

PersianPod101.com
2022-10-10 22:15:31

Salaam Anna,

Thank you for your comment!

We are happy to have you with us. 😊

و سبز رنگ زیباییه. 😄

Please let us know if you have any questions. We would be glad to assist.

Best,

Ali

Team PersianPod101.com

Anna
2022-10-09 22:04:24

سبز :)

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